Tacko Fall is averaging 15 points on 69.6 percent shooting, 10.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in six games with the Maine Red Claws. He has been sidelined with a knee injury since early last week. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
Tacko Fall is where he belongs. At least he will be when he is able to return to the floor for G League’s Maine Red Claws from his knee sprain.
The large rookie may have an even longer way to go to reach his potential – but that’s only because that latter element seems greater than when we first saw him in summer league last July. Fall has shown in his six games with the Red Claws that his ceiling could be a few floors higher … which has to be comforting for a man now listed at 7-foot-5 in bare feet who suffered a mild concussion when he low-bridged himself while trying to wash his hands at the Boston Celtics’ practice facility in October. (As regards to his new “official” height, the team has assured, however, that he will be wearing sneakers for each game.)
But standing out even more than his size during his Maine events has been Fall’s production. Yes, he still has much work to do on his game, but it can be hard to look at his numbers – 15 points on 69.6 percent shooting, 10.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in an average of just 24 minutes over six appearances – and not wonder if he could be of service to the Celtics.
Danny Ainge isn’t yet ready to consider whether there might come a point this season where he makes some moves and transfers Fall from his two-way deal to a position on the Celts’ 15-man roster.
“I don’t know,” the Celtics president of basketball operations told the Boston Herald. “It’s way too early for any of that. You just want to see him develop, that’s all.
“I don’t even want to go there. Right now we have a plan, and we’ll go with that plan and develop him the best we can this year.”
Fall was generally a curiosity to most when the Celts brought him to Las Vegas as an undrafted free agent. He did well there in spots, but the Celtics had no strong control over him until they gave him Max Strus’ two-way spot in mid-October.
Under his present contract, the Celtics have his rights only for this season.
“Tacko picks things up quick, and he’s a smart kid,” said Ainge. “He’s a great kid. Everybody’s rooting for Tacko. I think everybody loves him as a person, but also they’re just fascinated by the story of Tacko. So he’s got a lot of people in his corner rooting for him. And I think he has a good attitude to develop. His approach and his daily work and his patience, I think, are going to serve him well.”
The Celts figured Fall was worth a look when he went undrafted, but, according to Ainge, it was shortly after the draft process that he and his staff realized they might really be on to something.
“Probably in the summer league we saw a big improvement as he was practicing with us,” Ainge said. “We were intrigued by him even in college, but when he was with us and he had lost 15 or 20 pounds and he was getting up and down the court better and had a really good summer league for us, I think that that was when we knew that, yeah, we’re probably not going to be able to keep him on an exhibit 10 contract.”
While the Celtics would like to improve their inside play, they do have a logjam of sorts at the position. Daniel Theis has played very well as the starter, and Enes Kanter has had some important contributions with his rebounding and low-post scoring. Robert Williams has made some spectacular plays (blocks, dunks), but the club is still looking for more solid positioning in the defensive scheme from him.
Those three have left just mop-up time for 26-year-old rookie Vincent Poirier, who has gotten into just seven games and seen a total of 32 minutes.
Accordingly, the Celtics assigned him to Maine on Thursday so he could get some desperately needed playing time. Ainge acknowledged it’s been difficult for Poirier since his arrival from France.
“I think just adjusting to NBA terminology, the language, different culture, being a rookie in the league – I think there is just an adjustment,” Ainge said. “And then on top of that there’s just not getting an opportunity to play. So we have confidence in Vince, and I think there’s always growing pains that go with young guys. I mean, he’s not so young, but he’s young in the NBA life. I’m always defending the guys that haven’t had a chance, and I think Vince will get a chance and we’ll see how he does.”
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